Murray could challenge Durbin for minority whip — State exchange plans could better help smokers — Christie joins other 2016s to back abortion ban

COULD DURBIN LOSE HIS LEADERSHIP ROLE? — There’s a chance that Washington Sen. Patty Murray will run for Senate Minority Whip, which would set up "the first Democratic leadership race in years," report POLITICO’s Manu Raju and Burgess Everett. Murray hasn’t made any announcement about her plans, but she’s not ruling out a challenge to Sen. Dick Durbin either. She wasn't very elaborative on Monday, insisting that she was only focused on her current job and 2016 reelection battle: “Let me just say this: What everybody needs to understand is this vote, this election, won’t take place for a year and a half.” Sen. Chuck Schumer, who’s in line to replace retiring Harry Reid and is Durbin’s old rival, is open to Murray’s elevation. The POLITICO story: http://politi.co/19CaFcP

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Welcome to PULSE. If you’re eating pancakes for breakfast this morning, you might want to avoid reading this otherwise uplifting story about children with maple syrup urine disease who donated their failed livers to adults who otherwise might have died waiting for liver transplants. The children’s livers no longer worked for them but were good enough for the adults. How sweet is that? http://wapo.st/1FbMM76

“They say one man’s trash is another man’s PULSE.”

OBAMACARE PLANS SMOKY ON TOBACCO CESSATION — Most health plans sold on state-run exchanges aren’t covering the smoking cessation benefits they’re supposed to under the ACA, according to a new report released today by the American Lung Association. They're supposed to cover all seven FDA-approved tobacco cessation meds with no cost-sharing, four counseling sessions and two attempts to quit per year. But just 17 percent of plans included in the study are covering the meds with no cost-sharing, and less than half list all seven meds in their publicly available drug formularies, ALA found. In only one state — West Virginia — did all exchange plans cover all seven FDA-approved meds. And West Virginia only had one insurer selling plans! The full report: http://bit.ly/1CqTIw9

ANOTHER POT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER MONEY — A bipartisan group of senators is trying to make sure that community health centers’ appropriations funding is preserved. “As Congress works to improve access to care and reduce health-care expenditures, we urge the Subcommittee to support Health Centers, allowing them to continue to provide cost-effective primary care,” a group of 60 senators, led by Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, wrote to the Senate Labor-HHS appropriations subcommittee. The discretionary account amounts to $1.5 billion this year. This fund is separate from the $7 billion in mandatory two-year funding for community health centers that is included in the SGR bill the Senate is expected to pass in April. The letter: http://1.usa.gov/1ORTwfS

CHRISTIE SUPPORTING 20-WEEK ABORTION BAN — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has joined the rest of the major Republican players expected in the 2016 presidential race by supporting a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. He was the only one whose stance was unknown, but Monday he informed anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List that he supports the “pain-capable” measures. "There are areas where all Americans — regardless of being pro-life or pro-choice — can come together," Christie said in a statement to SBA List, according to the Washington Examiner. "America is one of just seven countries that permits elective abortions past this point. We can do far better than this. I urge Congress to take swift action on this important issue." The Examiner story: http://washex.am/1G9JUJq

NIH TEAM TO DEVELOP PRECISION MEDICINE INITIATIVE — The NIH announced Monday that it has put together a team of experts to develop the President’s Precision Medicine Initiative, which would create a cohort of 1 million people who would share information about their lifestyles and health to help researchers understand how to individualize prevention and treatment. The working group will take input from the public and will deliver a preliminary report in September. See who’s on the team: http://1.usa.gov/1NwKnpP

** When Matt Ellefson got his diagnosis, he was told his five-year survival rate odds were less than 5 percent. But six years later, Matt is running half marathons — and beating the odds against cancer — thanks to his hard work and that of dedicated biopharmaceutical researchers. For more information visit: http://onphr.ma/1GV7dZg **

KY GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES WOULD NIX KYNECT — Republican James Comer said Monday that if elected as Kentucky's next governor, he would roll back the number of people eligible for Medicaid and close down the state’s health insurance exchange, according to the Courier Journal. Comer is all for repealing Obamacare, but he didn’t share any ideas for how to deal with people who now receive premium subsidies if the law were scrapped. Another Republican candidate, Matt Bevin, has also said he would scrap the exchange if elected. http://cjky.it/1ORzgLp

INTRODUCING THE HEALTH CARE BLACK BOX — What drives large employers’ health care spending? The American Health Policy Institute dove into that “black box,” and today it’s releasing the first in a series of reports on the question. The goal is to help employers make informed decisions on spending and prepare them to encourage their employees to become smarter health care consumers. In this introductory report, AHPI presents an analysis by Milliman, Inc. of spending patterns in typical plans versus well-managed plans and finds that the latter costs about 13 percent less. The report: http://bit.ly/1GHpFDz

NO SUBSIDIES DOESN’T MEAN NO COVERAGE — If the Supreme Court rules against the administration in King v. Burwell and people living in the 34 states relying on HealthCare.gov lose their subsidies, they won’t necessarily lose their coverage, points out Heritage Foundation’s Ed Haislmaier in a new paper. They’ll then qualify for a special enrollment period, he writes, so they could switch to less expensive plans. More: http://herit.ag/1yuf9IR

NURSE PRACTITIONERS ON THE HILL TODAY — Congress may be on recess, but that’s not stopping the American Association of Nurse Practitioners from heading to Capitol Hill today. They’re urging passage of the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2015 and an expanded role for nurse practitioners at VA facilities, among other priorities.

LABOR DELAYS SOB DEADLINE — On Monday, the Department of Labor announced that it has delayed implementation of an Obamacare requirement for group health plans and health insurers to release summaries of benefits that “accurately (describe) the benefits and coverage under the applicable plan or coverage” during open enrollment periods, reports Business Insurance. In December, DOL, HHS and the Treasury issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would have required the new SOBs as of Sept. 1. But DOL now says templates for the documents won’t be finalized until January and will apply to coverage that begins on or after Jan. 1, 2017. http://bit.ly/19rPLgC

MEASLES CASES KEEP ON COMING — As of Friday, the CDC had counted 146 cases in the outbreak linked to Disneyland — up from 125 as of mid-February. Nationwide, the number of cases keeps rising, too, with a total of 178 cases now confirmed since Jan. 1. Already, 2015 has seen more measles than all but three years since the highly contagious disease was declared “eliminated” in the United States in 2000.

WHAT WE’RE READING

Enterovirus D68 may be responsible for paralyzing more than a hundred children across the country, researchers reported Monday in Lancet Infectious Diseases. The New York Times report: http://nyti.ms/1IgzLcT

The Times also looks at an overlooked provision in the SGR deal passed by the House last week that would provide doctors greater protection against medical malpractice lawsuits: http://nyti.ms/1HgEqLN

Doctors with cancer are joining a push in California to let doctors prescribe lethal medications to patients who want to hasten their own deaths, Kaiser Health News reports: http://bit.ly/1ILjv4l

Meanwhile, the American Pharmacists Association adopted a policy on Monday that discourages its members from providing execution drugs, the AP reports: http://usat.ly/1yut7dW

Arizona’s governor has signed a law that prohibits the sale of plans that cover abortion on the state’s Obamacare exchange. The law also requires doctors to tell women that medical abortions can be reversed. Reuters reports: http://reut.rs/1acN0Rs

** In 1987, when Michael Jackson’s “Bad” soared up the charts, 3 year old Hydeia was diagnosed as HIV-positive. As part of the first generation of children born with HIV/AIDS, and originally given only two years to live, Hydeia beat the odds. A nationally-known speaker and activist, she hasn’t let her disease stop her while she travels the country, inspiring many and helping normalize the disease. For more information visit: http://onphr.ma/1GV7dZg **